Enter the Dark
by encre d'esprit
Summary: INSPIRED BY TheSundayBlues. What happens when Reid is forced to face his worst nightmare after Hotch assigns him and Morgan to check out an underground tunnel beneath the unsub's house? Will Morgan help Reid face his fear once and for all? no slash
1. Chapter 1

**This idea was completely inspired by TheSundayBlues. Will be a two-three part fic. Please review and let me know what ya think!**

"Hotch! You'd better come over here..."

Special Agent Aaron Hotchner turned towards Morgan's voice booming from the basement of the older, rundown house. They had just received the residential address of their unsub, Daryl Gardner and were searching the empty house. Most of the team, along with a dozen local police officers of Blake County, Arizona, had travelled to the grayish house in record time after learning their unsub was Daryl Gardner.

Daryl Gardner. 46 years of age. Male, about 5'8", Causcasian. The scattered belongings and garbage spread around the low income house was a direct prediction from their profile. Daryl Gardner had raped, tortured and murdered 11 women in five weeks and currently had another one held. From the pattern in the other victims, this unsub seemed to have held the women for three days, having murdered them on the third day and dumping their bodies at discolsed locations, far from any amenities. This man had kidnapped 17 year old Daphne Harris yesterday, meaning they had approximately 48 hours to find her.

"What is it?" Hotch asked loudly as his feet flew down the rickety stairs that led to the hazy basement. When he reached the bottom, he ran into Morgan, Reid and Prentiss.

"There seems to be a hidden doorway here..." Reid spoke up and led the supervisory agent towards the far back wall. The basement was unfinished and the slow, patronizing sound of a leak seemed to echo throughout the entire space, going unnoticed by the four.

"Do you have any idea where it leads?" Hotch asked with a stern expression as he pulled the remnants of the rotting plywood that was covering the large hole.

"Nope. It looks like a tunnel of some sort. Do you think this is where he transported the bodies in and out of the house?" Morgan questioned as he directed his flashlight into the hole to study the structure of the man made tunnel.

"It could be. This man seems smart, I don't think he would risk taking the victims in and out of his own driveway. There aren't many trees around here, the neighbors could see right into his yard." Hotch thought out loud, then stood up straight from his crouching position. "Morgan, Reid, why don't you two see where this tunnel leads. Prentiss, you and I will help the rest of the team examine the items upstairs, maybe something will tell us where he's headed."

"Uh..!" Reid said quickly just as Prentiss and Hotch were about to ascend the stairwell. "Are... Are you sure we should go in there? I mean, what if it's dangerous, it could collapse while we're inside..."

Hotch looked past the young agent to view the opening of the tunnel.

"Well, it looks pretty structured to me. Seems like he even put in his own supports every five or six feet..." Morgan offered as he shone his flashlight into the hole again. "I say it looks safe." Morgan looked back at the other three with a shrug.

Reid frowned slightly, but it went unnoticed by the others as Hotch nodded and him and Prentiss began making their way upstairs.

"Well, let's go!" Morgan announced once him and Reid were left alone in the leaky basement. He patted the structure around the hole then began to step inside.

"Hey- Morgan are... Are you sure about this? I mean there could be disease infested rats in there... Or hissing cockroaches... Or..." Reid rattled off before Morgan slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Reid man, take it easy. It's just a tunnel. Are you afraid or something?" He speculated and eyed the young genius in a teasing way before breaking into a smile.

Reid frowned again, "No.. I just don't think it's that... Hygenic..." Reid muttered in reply, but Morgan had already disappeared into the dark tunnel.

Seeing as Morgan was taking their main source of light into the the dark passage way, Reid made a quick decision and jumped to follow him.

"How far do you think it goes?" Reid asked in a hush whisper. Morgan jumped, then stopped before turning around and shining the flashlight in Reid's face.

"Jesus! Reid! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He nearly shouted from being startled, then lowered the flashlight after realizing he was blinding Reid.

"Sorry…" Reid apologized then they continued to move. He followed Morgan closely as they descended the dark tunnel.

"Man, this guy must have worked on this thing for months…" Reid heard Morgan say almost in astonishment. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything on the ground."

Reid swallowed hard and nodded, even though Morgan couldn't see him.

"What-… What kind of things would be on the ground?" Reid asked tentatively, nearly breathing down his teammate's neck.

"Reid, can you give me some room here? I feel like you're glued onto me or something." Morgan stopped again.

"Sorry…" Reid cleared his throat loudly and it echoed through the confinements of the tunnel. "Um, can we keep moving?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow at him, but turned and started walking again. Something about Reid's behaviour seemed nervous, more anxious than usual.

Reid glanced over his shoulder to find they couldn't see the opening of the tunnel anymore. The dim light that had been coming from the basement was now gone and they were locked in complete darkness, except for the flashlight in Morgan's hands.

Reid froze and closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling a deep breath and releasing it slowly, trying to calm his nerves. If he thought about it for too long, the walls would start to close in on him. If he thought about the entrance they came in at, it relaxed him for a few seconds until he started to switch his attention to the batteries in the flashlight. If they died, if Morgan dropped it, they would be cast in complete darkness. As the thoughts swirled into Reid's head, he felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest and his breath started to come in almost gasps.

"Reid? You coming?" Morgan's voice boomed from several feet away. "…Reid?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay folks, but here's part 2! Please review and let me know what you think!**

_Spencer Reid was 9 years old and in his second year at the Las Vegas junior high school. He had definitely had his share of torture and roughhousing throughout his years of being intellectually above anyone he had ever graded with, and this year was going to be no exception. _

_On this unusually breezy autumn day, Spencer Reid zipped his jacket up as far as it would go while his feet padded quickly across the pavement of the sidewalk. He hated the fact that his mother was no longer permitted to operate a vehicle and how his dad always had to be at work early, forcing him to walk the thirteen blocks to school by himself. It was only the second day of grade 8 and he was fearing that he would be running late for homeroom after glancing down at his watch and realizing it was already 8:07am. _

_He picked up his pace and readjusted his backpack as he walked down the sidewalk, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him. He always walked like that, never liked to look anyone in the eyes. Too many people judged him too quickly and he was smart enough to know how to try and avoid it. _

_He glanced up quickly to catch the street number on the intersection he was crossing. He was only a couple blocks away now, and it looked like he would actually be on time for school. _

"_Well looky, looky, what we have here boys…" A patronizing voice sounded from Spencer's right. He closed his eyes briefly and cursed his bad luck after immediately recognizing the voice as the main leader in one of the bully groups from school._

_He slowly came to a stop, knowing all too well that it wouldn't do him any good to run. These boys were 14 and 15 years of age, and from previous experiences they would catch up to him in no time. It was the same group Spencer had to deal with in grade school and when he entered junior high, his hopes of them changing their ways were diminished after the first day of school. _

"_Well howdy, Professor four eyes, where do you think you're heading?" The main one asked as he and the other two circled Spencer on the sidewalk. Spencer took a deep breath and thanked above that at least they weren't in the school hallway where they could close him up in one of the lockers again. _

"_School." Was Spencer's one-worded reply. He knew to not say anything he didn't have to._

"_School eh? Well that's what you think…" One of the other guys said as he grabbed the back of Spencer's jacket and began dragging him in the wrong direction of the school._

"_Yes, I think we need to take little four eyes here to our secret place." Another said as one of them slipped a sweater over Spencer's head so he couldn't see where he was going. _

"_Guys! Stop, let me go! Please! I have to get to school…" Spencer cried out through the used sweater. He flailed his arms around wildly, but two of the guys quickly grabbed them and continued walking._

"_He has to get to school he says." Spencer heard one of them mock. The three burst out into laughter as Spencer struggled to breathe through the thick material._

* * *

"Reid. Hey kid, I said, are you alright?" Morgan's concerned voice snapped Reid back to reality.

"Wh-wha?" Reid managed to get out before realizing he was now sitting on the rough ground of the tunnel underneath Daryl Gardner's house, leaning against the rough side. He looked up at the source of the voice and his eyes finally focused on Morgan in the dim light from the flashlight, crouching down beside him.

"You ok?" Morgan asked again. His eyes were full of concern and a frown creased his brow. He had been calling out to Reid when he heard a loud thump echo through the confinement and he turned back to find Reid on the ground, leaning against the compacted dirt siding of it.

"Oh.. Uh.. Yeah.. Yeah, I'm fine." Reid muttered quickly and placed his hands on the ground in efforts to stand. His legs wobbled almost immediately and he fell back to his previous position.

"Shit, Reid I don't think you're fine…" Morgan answered and dodged forward quickly, fearing that Reid had blacked out.

"I… I just…" Reid stammered and ran a hand over his face, only to find that it was damp with perspiration. At the thought, his whole body seemed suddenly too overheated and he ran another hand over his face, then began rubbing his thighs uncontrollably.

"Can- Can we just… Get out of here?" He asked pitifully, his voice coming out high and squeaky.

Morgan looked on with a frown of confusion splayed across his face. Reid's behaviour had changed dramatically since they entered the tunnel, and now Morgan was crouched beside the young profiler with genuine concern filling his face.

"What's wrong? Can I do anything?" He asked quickly and sat down beside Reid, leaning his back against the wall as he watched the young genius lean forward over his bent knees. Morgan set the flashlight down on the other side of him to shift to a more comfortable position, but Reid's hand flew out and clamped over Morgan's forearm.

"No! Grab the light, I need the light!" He almost screamed at him. Morgan froze dumbfounded for a second, then reached for the flashlight that had rolled a few feet away.

"Here kid." He handed the flashlight to Reid, and his fingers unclamped from Morgan's arm to grab their only source of light. He unconsciously brushed the top off with his sleeve then held it close to his chest protectively, while facing the light on the wall across from them.

Morgan had seen Reid's face for a split second, and in that second he saw the look of fear in his eyes. His mind trailed to the diminishing pain in his left forearm from Reid's steel grip only seconds ago when they were briefly enveloped in a wave of darkness as the flashlight had rolled away.

Reid remained quiet for a few minutes as he tried to control his breathing. He swallowed heavily and took one more deep breath before he spoke.

"M-Morgan, I've… I've never told anyone this, but…" He tried to say while his eyes remained closed. His knuckles were beginning to turn white from gripping the smooth metal of the flashlight so hard, but neither of them noticed in the darkness of the tunnel.

* * *

"_Yeah, he'll have lots of time for thinking while he's in here…"_

_Spencer Reid was dragged into a building that smelled old and damp. He could feel the rough, uneven floor through his shoes as the two guys dragged him even deeper into wherever they were going. He had heard a rickety wooden door close behind him and now all the noise from the city streets seemed to be muffled. His heart began beating faster as he struggled against the older, stronger boys holding him so tightly._

"_Let me go!" He cried out again, knowing it was useless. _

"_Not on your watch!" The one to his right replied. "Come on, lets put him over here…"_

_Spencer could hear the evil smile through their voices as they spoke. He felt some sort of debris at his feet as he walked against his will, accidently kicking it forward and hearing the sound of chunks of wood and metal tinker against the floor._

"_Come on, put him in here." The voice of the 'leader' called out from a few feet ahead of him. He heard another wooden door open and the guy ahead of them seemed to be kicking pieces of something out of the way of their path._

_Suddenly Spencer felt the two shoving him into some sort of confined space and slamming the wooden door behind him. He heard their voices from the other side and Spencer ripped the sweater off his head quickly and opened his eyes to find he was locked in darkness. He patted the walls in panic for a way out, it felt as if he was in a space the size of a closet, but the walls felt bumpy and made of planks of wood. He cried out as a sliver pierced his finger from running his hands along the door they had closed behind him._

"_Come on, lets shove this in front of the door, he'll never push it out of the way." One of the voices demanded excitedly from the other side and Spencer soon heard the three grunting to push some large object towards the confined space._

"_Hey! Let me out of here!" Spencer banged recklessly against the door, but he felt the object push defiantly against it, locking the door in position. The three on the other side laughed loudly until one of them mentioned the time._

"_Well looks like we gotta head to school now, Prof. You take this time to think of a way to cure cancer now, y'hear?" The main one called out and the others laughed in response. Spencer yelled against the door, but he just heard the footsteps fade until he no longer heard anything._

_His breathing began to come in quick gasps as he padded the walls around him down again, trying to find a way out. The musky smell entered his nostrils against his will and he felt an angry tear slide down his cheek as he tried to push his weight against the door, but it wouldn't budge._

**Ok so this turned out to be a 3 part fic. Last chapter will be posted soon! Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer on profile.  
Last one, I hope you enjoy! Please review.**

_He couldn't see anything. His eyes couldn't adjust to the pitch black darkness of the chamber he had been locked in. He had cursed his over-zealous mind multiple times before for overthinking certain subjects for too long, but no more than he was now. _

_Spencer Reid sat pushed against the far wall of the tiny hole they had locked him up in. The tears dropped uncontrollably from his cheeks as he pushed his eyes shut, trying to think of anything else but where he was. He couldn't distract his mind for too long, his intelligence was much too smart for that. After a few seconds, his thoughts would drastically change to the coffin-like feel trembling through his body._

_He struggled to swallow as he brushed the tears angrily away with the sleeve of his sweater and kicked feebly at the door, knowing that it wouldn't budge. Whatever they had dragged in front of it had to weigh at least three time as much as him; he had quickly calculated from his strength, the force of leverage on the door, the three boys who had to drag it. He concluded there was no way he could push this door open by himself._

_Spencer Reid's breaths had been coming in gasps for the last few minutes and he knew if it kept up he would pass out and then there would be no way anyone would find him. From the musky smell surrounding him, he assumed he was in some type of abandoned structure and fought the urge to give in to the dizzy feeling entering his head._

_Once he felt the walls closing in on him that he couldn't see, he started screaming at the top of his lungs until he gave in to unconsciousness._

_

* * *

  
_

"N-No one found me for almost five hours. I-I guess a… Passerby who… Who used to work at the building noticed the front door opened and got suspicious." Spencer Reid explained to the colleague sitting beside him on the rough ground as he clenched the flashlight tight to his chest.

"Man Reid, why didn't you tell me?" Morgan asked, his voice low and oddly gentle, a deep contrast from the way he normally talks around others.

"I-… It's not something I… I guess I'm embarrassed. Morgan, I'm a 26 year old genius who's afraid of the dark." Reid admitted meekly, but continued his wide gaze on the lit wall opposite of the two.

"Reid." Morgan began sternly as he kept his eyes on the young profiler beside him. "Everyone is afraid of something. Being afraid of the dark isn't uncommon at all. Did you know Prentiss is afraid of birds?"

"Birds?" Reid became briefly distracted from his surroundings as he turned his head to Morgan with a confused expression. "Why would she be afraid of birds?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Morgan broke into a smile at the thought. "But if you ever see a pigeon fly towards her or walk too close she bee lines it like a scared rabbit."

Reid gave a half smile at the thought, wondering how someone could have such a fear of something so ordinary as a pigeon.

"And don't tell anyone this, but Hotch… He's afraid of spiders…" Morgan added quietly, even though he knew no one would hear him.

"Really..?" Reid asked incredulously as he looked at the man beside him.

Morgan nodded his head, "Once I saw him in his office and a spider crawled across his desk. I've never heard a scream so high come out of a man. He darted out of that office and tried to regain his composure before he seen anyone. He didn't know I saw, it was one of the odd times I was actually at the office before anyone else…"

Reid chuckled softly at the image in his mind.

"Come on, lets get out of here." Morgan announced and rose to his feet and brushed his backside off.

Reid nodded slowly and didn't protest as Morgan helped him stand. Reid continued to clutch the flashlight in front of him, pointing it steadily in front as they began walking back towards the opening of the basement.

"It's ok, Reid. I'm here with you. We know we're out after a few more feet, just keep thinking about that. Ok?" Morgan advised calmly. "I'm right here with you, you've got nothing to worry about."

Reid nodded in the dark and repositioned his grip on the flashlight. His chest felt tight and he could feel the trickle of sweat slide down the back of his neck, but he continued to walk along with his teammate.

After a few minutes, they could see the dim light cascading in at the opening from the low bulb in the basement. Morgan heard Reid sigh out loud at the sight and picked up his pace, Morgan falling along stride with him.

They quickly exited the end of the tunnel and Reid visibly relaxed quickly and collapsed onto the wooden stairs as he let out a large breath he didn't know he had been holding. Morgan watched on in concern as Reid closed his eyes for a second and levelled his breathing.

"Did you guys find anything?" Hotch's voice asked loudly as he entered the area with Prentiss from one of the small rooms connected off of the basement. Reid's eyes flew open and his and Morgan's attention turned to the supervisor as he looked at them waiting for an answer.

Reid looked at Morgan with worried eyes, but Morgan turned to Hotch and shrugged, "We heard some scuffling and were pretty sure there's rats or mice living inside there. We decided to retreat in case the guy had rat poison inside of the tunnel. We didn't want to risk breathing it in." Morgan explained without skipping a beat.

Reid frowned slightly at Morgan's explanation and then quickly turned his gaze to the supervisory agent for his reaction.

"Smart move. I'll let Detective Frederick know, we'll get SWAT down here just in case the tunnel is high risk. This guy very well could have set traps in the tunnel as well, we found some incriminating evidence in the room down the hall. I want you two detailing through it, we need to know where this guy is heading."

With that, Hotch already had his phone up to his ear and passed Reid to ascend the stairwell back to the main level. Prentiss followed him quickly to talk to the officers who were sifting through the unsub's bedroom.

Reid looked at Morgan in surprise, but Morgan only shrugged in his direction.

"Come on, looks like we've been assigned a new task." Morgan advised as he walked past the young genius who was still perched on the bottom stair. Reid stood quickly and looked up after him.

"Hey Morgan?" He called up to the man who was halfway up the staircase.

"Yeah?" He stopped briefly to turn and look down as Reid was slowly ascending the stairs, while holding onto the rickety railing.

"Thanks." He said bashfully without meeting Morgan's eyes.

Morgan chuckled as Reid caught up to him on the stairs and shook his shoulder playfully.

"Come on, kid. Lets find this guy." Morgan replied with a smile.

**I just wanted to send a thanks to **_**TheSundayBlues **_**for all her great ideas and inspiration for this fic. : )**


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